Confederate veteran and capitalist Henry A. Landes (1844-1919) had this house built in 1887-88. Designed by prominent architects George E. Dickey of Houston and D. A. Helmich, the house reportedly provided refuge to some 200 people during the disastrous 1900 hurricane. John P. McDonough, owner of a dry docks and ironworks business, purchased the property in 1911. Acquired by the Dominican Sisters in 1954, it housed a fine arts center for a number of years. The eclectic Victorian structure features Romanesque style accents in its fine ornamental terra cotta, brick and ironwork, and its exuberant parapet and towers. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1973